Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may
abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
He is a God of hope! Not only is he a God of hope, but he wants us to abound in HOPE. What does it mean to abound?
To abound means to occur or exist in great quantities, to be rich or well supplied, to be filled with...God can give you joy and peace in believing. People who practice of life of believing are not dark minded people. They are people that dream, and go after those dreams. They are people who face adversity and trials with perseverance because of their faith in God.
Look at the story of Joseph. He was favored by his father. He received a beautiful coat from his Father, a gift that none of his brothers received. He had dreams from God of blessings and the promise that he would rule over his household. What happened to Joseph? This world cannot tolerate anyone that is favored or blessed. Jealousy, anger, dark-minded individuals tried to steal his hope. He was sold into slavery by his brothers. Accused falsely by his employer's wife and sentenced to prison. Let in a jail cell and forgotten. Could there be anymore hopeless situation than what he was in, yet, he did not complain or give up. He maintained his hope in God.
When bad things happen to us we often ask why God allowed it. God certainly allowed a lot of bad things to happen to Joseph. If you look at the bad things as a means to an end, then you will be hopeless and angry, or possibly bitter. But, when you keep your eyes on the promise. God had given Joseph a dream, a promise, that he would one day be in a position of honor and respect. He was not seeing that come true, but, instead of giving way to despair he held on to the promise.
Joseph could not make the promise of God, nor the will of God come to pass. He was dependant upon God to make everything right in his life. When bad things happen, try to focus on where you are going, instead of where you are at.
I remember the day I gave birth to my daughter Angela that is multiple handicapped. I had a natural birth, no meds, no shots for the pain, and she was almost 9lbs! There was some concern with the pregnancy, so, I was watching in the mirrors as she was coming down the birth canal. The way that she positioned, it looked as if there were only holes in her body, and no arms there. Even my husband saw the same thing and thought...'she has no arms!' This was way back in the day and there had been no ultra sound done before birth, I didn't know the sex of the baby until she was born. Then as I kept pushing, suddenly both of her arms popped out and were extended to the right and the left. I realized then that she had been pushing against the wall with her might, and it had made gaps where her arms were, that looked like holes in her body, but there were no holes, she had arms! All I could do was thank GOD that my baby had arms. The doctors alerted me right away that she was not squinting at the lights, and her eyes were just rolling around, the possibility of blindness. I understood that, but, at that moment, I was so happy she had arms! At least she wouldn't be blind and armless as well. The point is no matter where you are at, it could be worse. See the hope and blessing in what you have.
What did Joseph have when he was falsely accused and thrown in prison to be forgotten? He still had a promise, a promise from God. Yes, it was only GODS WORD...but that was more than enough!
